Search

Blog

How can we stop ourselves buying and eating cheap unhealthy food?

We taxpayers are paying the NHS billions on food related illness. Sugar tax has changed our buying habits a little, to really make a difference we must actually WANT to change?

Want, because evolution and constant marketing promotions mean that when we eat sugary foods or take-aways we over consume. This is because for millions of years, when food was scarce, humans evolved to overeat in times of plenty. The hormones that encouraged this behaviour are still present so no wonder so many people are overweight, when we now have sugary, fatty, food everywhere and are surrounded by adverts telling us to eat more.

Most people know the difference between good and bad foods and that they ‘should’ eat fruit and veg, yet 94% of teenagers in Wales do not eat their ‘5 a day’. The ‘should’ must change to WANT.

Education: Not boring old domestic science where each child has to take a can of pineapple chunks to school. Every school in the UK should have a veg patch to grow food, and facilities to cook it, then sell excess locally. These actions together with nutrition should be in every part of the curriculum to also make each subject more interesting. Maths, science, geography, art, history, etc.

Children suck up knowledge and will learn quicker if it is relevant to something they do 3 times a day; eat. They can be a huge influence on parents as proved by recycling rates, plastic bag use and recently walking to school to cut carbon emissions. We all know how difficult it is to change a child’s opinion once they really want something.

learning through doing

And how they love correcting the older generation. Just imagine; ‘Let me cook supper mummy, you need some healthy, low carb, food’.

This could all be financed by sugar tax and more taxes like fat and takeaway food. Small subsidies can be given to those farmers who help schools build and manage raised beds and plant fruit trees. Old people can be invited to help, to combat exclusion, especially in school holidays when valuable produce can be harvested and shared.

There are many organisations like BigBarn all over the UK getting fantastic results working with schools (video here), but often turned away by teachers who say “It’s not on the curriculum”. Arrgghh!

avoid supermarkets, their plastic & confusing offers

Once we have the education and influence from kids we need information:
1. On where to get the best food and save money by avoiding middle men and expensive supermarkets.
2. On how to cook simple delicious meals instead of buying sugary salty ready meals or fatty takeaways
Luckily we have BigBarn.co.uk with our Local Food Map to find the freshest, best, and often cheaper produce direct from the grower. Buying the produce and chatting to the farmer will increase our perceived value of the ingredients and encourage local farmers to grow more food.